We live in a digital age. I can sit at my computer all day and talk to people on the other side of the world, by email, chat or Skype. Online webinars make it possible to share training or ideas with larger groups of people without anyone leaving the comfort of their own office. Given that this is so, why do I need to get on a plane and fly 5,189 miles to San Diego, with all the jet lag, expense and inconvenience, in order to spend 4 days live with a group of people who are all as excited about LiveCode as I am?
Of course you know that I’m not going to conclude that conferences are a waste of time. The clue is in that sentence “spend time with a group of people who are all as excited about LiveCode as I am”. But why not? How can we justify the huge investment of time, trouble and expense that live conferences represent? Besides the obvious opportunities for training and learning in formal sessions at these events, I think there are three areas where live conferences just cannot be replaced by digital events.
1) Personal interaction.
Accept no substitutes. You will always learn more in a face to face conversation with someone than you will over the phone/Skype. You can read their body language, pick up subtle nuances you would otherwise miss, not to mention that the conversation is going to flow far more smoothly that it does when you have to ask them to repeat every other sentence or reconnect three times when your Skype connection dies… As a moderator of several email lists I can tell you that an interaction via email can go pear shaped at the touch of an ill judged key. You just know that the group of people now engaged in a blazing flame war would get on like a house on fire if they were all sitting together in a bar, talking, instead of typing things at each other they will later regret.
 2) Networking.
There is a saying, “It’s not what you know but who”. You don’t know who you don’t know. You may find interesting people to interact with on forums, or during an online course, but there is just no better way to connect with the right people for you, your work, your educational needs or your business than attending a conference focussed on your area of interest. Unless you stay in your room and hide for the entire 4 days, you will meet interesting people who can help you at RunRevLive.14!
3) Inspiration.
Life is not all about 1’s and 0’s. Yes, the mundane day to day tasks have to be done, plans need to be carried out, code must get written and so on and so forth. But where is your next big idea going to come from? A change of scene, a change of pace, and a new group of inspiring people to talk to might result in something you currently haven’t even begun to dream up. Technically, we could hold a conference in Dundee, in the rain, in a concrete/tin shed on an industrial estate somewhere. I suspect that a) not many people would come and b) it would not have the same inspiring atmosphere and potential as a conference held in beautiful surroundings with good weather, good food and plenty to see and do.
Personally, I’m hugely looking forward to seeing you all again, catching up on the gossip, meeting old friends and making new ones, and adding San Diego 2014 to my bag of happy memories. As far as whether it is worth it to attend goes, I’ll let an attendee from last year sum it up. He told me:
“That one to one meeting I just had with your developer was worth the entire cost of the conference to me! Thank you so much.” Have you been to one of our conferences? Or another conference? How did you find the experience, was it worth it to you?
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